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Battle of Socortia
The Battle of Socortia was a primarily naval battle off the Island of Socortia in the Om campaign. Background Socortia was a relatively isolated island nation on the Trackless Ocean. The king of the Umani natives died, his daughter Aziza was slated to inherit the throne, but she was challenged by her cousin Akembe. Around this time a pirate organization called the Brotherhood of the Coast established a presence on the island, they backed Akembe's claim, offering gold and manufactured goods in exchange for slaves to work the emerald mines. The Brotherhood themselves were had forged an alliance with Orlesea whereby they would be provided arms and support in exchange for preying only on Gildornian ships. In Dragon of 465 a group of Gildornian agents known as the Royal Explorers struck Darsah, the pirate town on the island, burning three ships in port and stealing another. This, in turn, led to the Battle at the Temple of Shadow and Light, where the Gildornian agents helped Queen Aziza's faction score a solid victory. Shortly after that conflict, however, a fleet of Orlesean ships arrived and reinforced the pirates and Akembe's faction. Pre-Battle Due to the attack by the Royal Explorers, the Brotherhood of the Coast was left with with only three ships, the Inferno, and the captured Morning Star and ''Sea Horse'', though all were badly burned and the pirates made every effort to cannibalize them to create usable ships though only the Sea Horse was seaworthy by the time of the battle. The Orleseans brought three ships of the line ( Courageuse, Lion and Imperial), six frigates (Formidable, Magicienne, Nymphe, Gloire, La Flèche, and Nemesis) and three corvettes (Vigilance, Laupin, and Renaed) to the effort. Most of the ships had put into port to land troops to assist the pirates and Akembe and to help rebuild the burned ships in the harbor, however two frigates and three corvettes were assigned patrol routes island and it's approaches. The Gildornian squadron was commanded by Commodore James Upton and consisted of two ships of the line (Thunderer and Dreadnaught), four frigates (Staunch, Fortune, Dragon, and Sea Bitch) and one brig (Tiger) that had sailed from Waymere. Battle Due to the reports of the Royal Explorers Commodore Upton knew both the strength of the Brotherhood of the Coast and their likely alliance with the Orlesasns. Accordingly, as the Gildornian fleet approached Socortia Upton dispatched the Tiger to scout the area, which identified the Orlesean strength and lines. After the Tiger reported back, The Gildornian squadron stood out to sea and avoided the patrol boats. They sent Tiger in again with Ambassador Jubal, Leandra, Mordecai the Mighty and a dozen marines. They landed on the north side of the island and made their way to Zaros to treat with Queen Aziza. Ambassador Jubal offered the protection and aid of the Gildornian government and an alliance to help rid Socortia of the pirate and Orleseans, which she accepted. With that the squad sneaked back to the Tiger and reported to Commodore Upton. With aid formally requested by Queen Aziza, Upton sailed his squadron towards Darsah. They sailed into port with the morning mist and surprised the Orlesians. Upton, being a man of honor, offered to let everyone leave as they may not have been aware the Umani were allies with Gildorn. The offer was met by a blast of fire from a wizard on one of the Orlesian ships (believed to be Lord Balamer "the Blue") and the battle was joined. The battle was a decisive victory for the Gildornians. Upton's fleet only suffered the loss of one frigate (the Fortune) and sank an Orlesean ship of the line (the Lion), a frigate (the Nymphe), and one corvette (the Vigilance). The Gildornians also captured a ship of the line (the Imperial), two frigates (the Magicienne, and the Formidable). The Orlesans managed to escape with only one ship of the line (the Courageuse), two corvettes (the Renaed and the Laupin) and three frigates (the ''Gloire'', La Flèche, and the Nemesis) as well as a repaired pirate ship (Sea Horse). Worse, several land troops were stranded on Socortia, cut off from reinforcements or supplies. Acting Captain "Black" Bill Nimbert of the Sea Bitch was praised for the ships performance in the battle as it had held the Imperial long enough for reinforcements to capture it and later sank the Vigilance. Upton landed troops and, aided by Queen Aziza's Umani, they began routing out Orlseans and pirates hiding out in the jungle. One of the heroes of the land fighting turned out to be Mordecai the Mighty for his efforts both before the battle and for his exploits on this front. Post Battle After the battle Ambassador Jubal negotiated unrestricted access to Darsah and the rights to erect a fort and establish an embassy. The Dreadnaught, the Sea Bitch and the Staunch escorted the prize ships back to to Waymere to bring word of the victory and to gather workers and solders to garrison and fortify Socortia. Clint Connery, the acting captain of the Morning Star who had been imprisoned by the pirates, was rescued as well and returned to Waymere. Category:Om Category:Battles